Pfizer Restructures San Diego R&D Footprint with $255M Site Sale and Layoffs

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is making significant changes to its research and development presence in San Diego, selling its existing campus and preparing to move into a new facility while also reducing its workforce in the area.

Sale of Current R&D Campus

Pfizer has sold its five-building campus on Science Center Drive in the Torrey Pines neighborhood of San Diego to BioMed Realty, a life sciences real estate firm, for $255 million. The sprawling site, which Pfizer acquired in 2004 for $372 million, originally spanned 33 acres and housed late-stage clinical trial operations for oncology and HIV divisions. In 2012, Pfizer sold three buildings for $51 million, retaining a 25-acre campus with five buildings totaling over 500,000 square feet.

Workforce Reduction and Relocation

Concurrent with the site sale, Pfizer is laying off 56 employees from one of the Science Center Drive addresses. These layoffs, set to take effect on June 2, are part of the company's efforts to improve R&D productivity and efficiency. A Pfizer spokesperson stated that the "sale of the previous site and the employment decisions are not associated or connected to one another," emphasizing that all job-related decisions are made with "transparency, compassion, and respect."

New R&D Facility and Future Plans

Pfizer's oncology arm has secured a 15-year lease at a nearby location in Torrey View. The new site, owned by Breakthrough Properties, comprises 230,000 square feet across two buildings on a 10-acre campus that opened last fall. This move is part of Pfizer's strategy to "enable world-class scientific innovation and the delivery of impactful new medicines to patients with cancer," according to Jeff Settleman, Ph.D., chief scientific officer for oncology R&D and La Jolla site head.

The restructuring of Pfizer's San Diego operations reflects the company's ongoing efforts to optimize its research capabilities and maintain its position at the forefront of pharmaceutical innovation, particularly in oncology research.